Grantmaker · Funders · Est. 2019
Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) is a grantmaking-adjacent “virtual fund” that organizes the collection and evaluation of grant applications so philanthropists can decide where to donate to organizations working on humanity’s long-term survival and flourishing. SFF describes itself as a website for hosting grant-round planning and publishing recommendations; it states it is not the grantmaking entity and that it does not distribute grants directly.
Instead, SFF’s role is to run its grant-recommendation processes (notably the S-Process, plus additional mechanisms such as “Speculation Grants,” Matching Pledges, and an Initiative Committee) and to publish the resulting recommendations. SFF’s operational centerpiece is the S-Process: SFF describes a recurring algorithmic-plus-meeting mechanism intended to support delegation-aware evaluation by multiple “Recommenders,” culminating in recommendations that Funders may adopt. SFF also describes the S-Process as “Simulation Process” because it uses a grant-making simulation app to support the evaluators’ discussions and final decisions. While SFF itself does not distribute funds, SFF’s FAQ and program pages connect the SFF recommendation processes to Survival and Flourishing Corp (SFC), which it describes as a Public Benefit Corporation engaged in philanthropy. SFC is described as distributing non-dilutive grants to for-profit companies based on recommendations from SFF’s S-Process and Speculation Grants programs, and also doing direct philanthropic work (including OpenLetter.net as an example of a project SFC engages in). Strategically, SFF positions its recommendation mechanisms as a way to scale philanthropic decision-making under existential-risk and AI-safety uncertainty, while also experimenting with mechanisms designed to increase speed and leverage (e.g., Speculation Grants, Matching Pledges) and adding more proactive grantmaking via an Initiative Committee. For 2026, SFF announced a set of S-Process tracks (Main, Freedom, Fairness) and added themed tracks (Climate Change, Animal Welfare, and Human Self-Enhancement and Empowerment), with published application and recommendation timelines and a stated total funding range for distribution across rounds and tracks.
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SFC CEO Ethan Ashkie published a dated update describing SFF operations in 2026, operational strain drivers, and planned tooling/process improvements for 2027, including an Applicant Portal and a revamped grant speculator/recommender tooling workflow.
SFF-2026 application announcement (Main + Freedom + Fairness tracks, plus themed rounds)SFF announced the 2026 S-Process grant round, including published application deadlines and recommendation announcement dates, and a stated overall funding range across main and themed tracks.
SFF partners with Effective Institutions Project to share applications (EIP expects recommending $5–15M to SFF applicants in 2025)SFF announced an application-sharing agreement with Effective Institutions Project, stating that applicants submit once to be considered by both organizations and that EIP anticipates recommending $5–15 million in grants to SFF applicants in 2025.
SFF-2025 S-Process Recommendations announcement (includes named recommender identities and Matching Pledge recommendations)SFF published its 2025 S-Process recommendations announcement, including a description of the S-Process for determining final grant amounts and a listing of Matching Pledge recommendations and details.
SFF’s Matching Pledge Program (mechanism description and incentives)SFF published documentation for its Matching Pledge Program, describing goals, how recipients opt in, and how matching incentives work in the S-Process context.
SFF establishes an Initiative Committee (proactive grants for AI risk)SFF described an Initiative Committee meant to host discussions among Jaan Tallinn, SFF Advisors (Andrew Critch and Eric Rogstad), and anonymous voters, with the committee making grants on its own initiative rather than receiving/responding to proposals via the S-Process.